Global Citizenship, Human Rights Focus of International Education Week
Ioana Patringenaru | November 24, 2008
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox speaking during the closing ceremony for International Education Week.
They discussed human rights and global citizenship. They watched movies from around the world and a play about the lives of Iraqi women. They learned more about studying abroad. Members of the UC San Diego community took part last week in the campus’ fourth annual International Education Week.
The weeklong event included a variety of activities from lectures on immigration and citizenship, to a theatrical production and a student festival. “Celebrating, Empowering, Our World is One World” was this year’s theme. The week concluded Friday with a Thanksgiving-themed lunch at the International Center, and remarks by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. International education and exchange programs play a big role in promoting peace and mutual understanding, Fox said.
“We are committed here in San Diego to fostering and supporting international education programs,” she said.
UCSD student Vivian Huaman manned the Peru table during the International Education Week student festival.
Fox added she didn’t have the opportunity to study abroad as a student. But as a researcher, she has worked with scientists on every continent and has lectured all over the world—including the South Pole. Three of her grandchildren recently moved to Singapore from France. One of them speaks French better than she does, she said.
At UCSD, students have access to a wide array of programs focused on international education, Fox said, including the Programs Abroad EXPO, which showcases study, work and travel-abroad opportunities for students. Many students also choose to study in foreign countries. UCSD ranked second in the nation for the number of students studying abroad for a full academic year, Fox also said. For those who choose to stay on campus, the university has developed new international programs and initiatives called “Internationalization at Home,” which include film screenings and international cuisine at dining halls and restaurants.
LuNa Zheng (left) and Ann Chen pose with fans at the China booth student the student festival.
Meanwhile, perhaps the most visible event of the week was the student festival on Library Walk. Many organizations and foreign students manned booths promoting a country, from China to Peru. Vivian Huaman, a fifth-year student at Eleanor Roosevelt College sitting at the Peru table, said she enjoyed International Education Week.
“It promotes diversity,” she said. “We’re gathering together to share our cultures.”
Nearby, Professor Kimloan Hill was promoting UCSD’s heritage language program, which offers classes tailored to students who want to improve their knowledge of the language their parents and relatives speak. Classes put an emphasis on writing, everyday conversation, culture and history. “On this campus, we have a lot of heritage students,” Hill said.
UCSD Professor Kimloan Hill promoted the linguistics department Heritage Language Program.
Meanwhile, International Education Week started Monday with an opening ceremony at Gilman and Myers drives, including a parade of flags proceeding through the campus to the Great Hall and a tapas luncheon.
Later that day, “El Norte,” an Academy Award nominated film depicting the plight of Guatemalans working illegally in the United States, was screened at the Price Center Theatre.
Tuesday, the International Center held an open house. Members of the UCSD community also took in a play titled “9 Parts of Desire.” Award-winning actress Seema Sueko acted out a tale about the intricate lives of Iraqi women. Sueko is director of Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company, selected as the 2008-2009 inaugural resident theatre company of the La Jolla Playhouse.
Students from the San Diego French-American School in La Jolla performed during the International Education Week closing ceremony.
Wednesday, Luz Marina Arias, economist and postdoctoral research fellow at the UCSD Center for US-Mexican Studies spoke on indigenous institutions and the reversal of fortune. That same day, Dr. Wael al-Dulaimy, associate professor of medicine at UCSD, gave a talk titled “Three Decades of Injustice: Health and Human Rights in Iraq.” He has worked as a physician in Iraq and discussed the abuse of human rights and the poor state of health care and in that country.
On Thursday, in addition to the student festival, Alejandra Rincón gave a talk titled “Undocumented Immigrants and Higher Education: Sí se Puede!” She examined the historic struggle of undocumented students and their supporters to gain equal access to higher education through in-state tuition laws.
At the student festival, undergraduates promoted the Ava Ensemble, which performs Persian music on and off campus.
That same day, Luis Valdez, a filmmaker, playwright and activist, often called the father of Chicano theater, spoke on the challenges of citizenship and the blending of cultures in UCSD’s Price Center Ballroom. Valdez directed the 1987 hit “La Bamba” about the life of rock’ n’ roll star Ritchie Valens.
Friday, the week concluded with a keynote speech by Harvard University law scholar and human rights activist Jacqueline Bhabha. She spoke on human rights and global citizenship, a topic she knows well from her research into issues of child migration, smuggling and trafficking and citizenship.
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